Light up holidays for cheap

Cambridge Times

I would like to respond to the letter about Christmas lights. I heat my home with 60 per cent electric heat and the rest is on gas and, yes, I live in an old home and my last bill was $68 for two months. Why so cheap?

Because I have done things to my home to make sure I am not heating the outside. Here are some tips not to give your money away to the electric company.

If you are using electric heat, make sure you have 10 watts per square foot of home (1,000 square feet is 10,000 watts) that way the heat is not running all the time.

Put plastic on the windows, foam around the door and buy a can of spray foam to fill holes to the outside. You could buy a programmable thermostat and turn the heat down at night. Electric heat is great because it is 100 per cent efficient. You can only heat one room, that way you’re not heating your whole house.

Christmas lights do suck up energy, but I don’t think that is the point behind Christmas lights. I put up Christmas lights because I hope for better things in this world. It’s not to say “look at me”. It is to say “I care for our community”.